Father Welcomes Long-Lost Daughter Home to Australia

Press Release Summary = A father\'s joyous reunion with his young daughter afteryears of separation has been hailed as a wonderful example of the human face ofAustralia\'s humanitarian programme.

Press Release Body = A father\'s joyous reunion with his young daughter after yearsof separation has been hailed as a wonderful example of the human face ofAustralia\'s humanitarian programme.

"Scenes like this morning\'s make you proud to live in a country that welcomes withopen arms so many thousands of people displaced by war," Minister for Immigrationand Multicultural Affairs Amanda Vanstone said today.

At Melbourne Airport this morning, Maulidi Mukasa held his eight-year-old daughterNeema for the first time in six years, upon her early-morning arrival from Africa.

Mr Mukasa and five of his children, including Neema\'s twin sister, had fled theirhome in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2000 for the relative safety ofTanzania.

In 2005 they were accepted as refugees under Australia\'s humanitarian programme, andthe family arrived in Shepparton, Victoria, a few days before Christmas last year.

However, Neema had been ill and in the care of relatives 60 kilometres away fromhome when they fled, and was not with them. Neema\'s mother died in the Congo.

"Stories such as the Mukasa family\'s flight from the civil war of their homeland aresadly all too common, but it warms the heart when we can play a part in bringingloved ones back together," Senator Vanstone said.

Senator Vanstone also praised the role of the principal of St Brendan\'s PrimarySchool in Shepparton, Mrs Julie Cobbledick, in finding Neema.

"After hearing that Neema was missing but that her father had never given up hope ofseeing her again, Mrs Cobbledick set about trying to find her.

"With the help of the Red Cross Tracing Service, she finally did so."

At Mr Mukasa\'s request, Mrs Cobbledick and her husband flew to Nairobi, Kenya, tocare for Neema on the long flight to Melbourne.

In 2005-2006 the Democratic Republic of Congo was one of the top ten countries ofbirth (eighth) for entrants under the off-shore component of Australia\'shumanitarian programme.

"Australia has a proven reputation - second to none - for accepting and successfullysettling the victims of war and people in humanitarian need who have been forced toflee their homeland," Senator Vanstone said.